Tag: dinner

God! Help!

January 5, 2021

God! Help!

This blog is for those moms, big sisters, teachers, coaches, etc. who have ever raised their hands up in the sky and demanded with tears streaming down their eyes, “God! Help!”

If you’ve never done that, please leave the rest of us in our private knowledge of complete crazy… nothing to see or read here… Thank you.

Now that I’m addressing those of you, who like me, know that they only get through life with God’s routine and very often injections of aid: understand that you are really, really not alone!

There are way more of us out here than you know.

But people don’t always see that. Still. That doesn’t mean we don’t completely loose it and at least internally… SCREAM for HELP!

Ever had a friend compliment you by saying, “wow, you were so calm.”

Your mind goes, “um.. what????” And you realize that only God saw your frantic desperate prayers as you grabbed napkins, wiped up your child’s blood trying not to freak out at her big sister’s just-started party while on your way to meet said child in the bathroom with unknown injury as you realize another daughter is already cleaning more blood (MORE BLOOD?? God, let me not scare her, make me calm.) on a gym mat. You realize that the frantic prayers were interpreted as deep breaths – thank you Jesus for oxygen and working lungs! Said child cries and you are thinking, “God, this injury is serious, help me!” but when you clean it and she whines, “I don’t want to go home! I want to play with my friends!”

Then there’s the serious prayer as you fight the urge of laughter-that-borders-on-insanity, “God, give me patience with this child!”

Bloody head wound clean. Check.

Bleeding stopped. Crisis averted. Check.

10,000+ frantic “God, you better help me” prayers in the span of 45 seconds while dealing with said child who doesn’t see that this is an INJURY and wants to GET BACK UP AND START FLIPPING! Double check.

Super glue, band-aid, and the older kids are like, “do we need to go?” Decision time. (This was supposed to be a food party & dinner & home is 45 minutes away plus party will be over & have to pick up actual party-goer in about 2 hours.) Stay.

Instant heart attack what feels like 5 seconds later when said injured child is about to show off her routine on bars – “DO YOU WANT TO LIVE TO ADULTHOOD??” (No, I didn’t scream that.)

But. I WANTED TO!! Instead it was “GOD HELP ME!” in my frantic brain while I think I may have jumped the knee wall to grab said child and firmly direct her back to my table in a solid seat (DID YOU REALLY JUST LEAN THAT FOLDING CHAIR ON TWO LEGS!!!???) beside me to watch her. Calm. Breathe. “GOD! HELP ME!” (Of course, that was a mental scream again.)

End the frantic night. (Thank you, Jesus!)

I’m laying in bed, praying that her head heals well and there’s no infection. Reading Proverbs for whatever chapter the day was (you know, when you can’t think of anything but Proverbs has a chapter for every day in the month?), I came across timeless wisdom that basically said (my brain translated the words to the following, it is NOT a direct quote:), “give everything to God and know that you aren’t perfect without Him.”

Truth.

Give over my worries. Give over my fears. In. Real. Time.

If I just write it on paper (or type it in a blog), that’s just words. What shows that I do trust God is in real time. When my toddlers decides to tilt her head back and scream bloody murder with a huge smirk because I’m on the phone. (PATIENCE, PLEASE!) When my boy is annoying his sisters for the bazillionth time in one minute. (Please, God, don’t let them kill him.) When an attack comes and it feels like the life-breath from my lungs is being sucked out by a giant vacuum. (Calm. Breathe. God. Help. Me.)

This is trusting in real time.

This is choosing to know that I cannot do anything without Jesus.

This is knowing that with Jesus I ca do all things. I can breathe. I can parent. I can mother. I can coach. I can love. Without Him, I can’t do any of those things.

So, yes, I know I’m imperfect. (I’m FAR from perfect!)

But…

I trust in the perfect one. I ask Him for help daily (um… thousands of times a day, in every situation I get stuck in!) and He answers with comfort, ideas, calm, and love.

Take a breath. Breathe in Jesus, breathe out, breathe in love, breathe out; now face your challenge! (As I hear a squeal from the kitchen followed by a crash… doesn’t sound like anything broke… “MOM!”) God, they are your children; HELP ME! I need to parent them to lead them to You, show me how.

Type at you later!

~Nancy Tart

P.S.: Those who were there, yes, I was freaking out inside. Yes, she is okay and nothing left to point at proudly and say “look what happened to me!”

Muddy Water Day

April 6, 2020

Muddy Water Day

We are a crazy outdoor family. After one 6am epic three-player (connected our little old computers together with LAN – the girls’ new love) Age of Empires (old school from like the 90s) game, we are technologically pooped.

As we are winning our Age of Empires, Louis made amazing waffles with homemade whipped cream (yummmmmmmmy).

Next step: Monopoly.

I’m having a bummer of a start… all the properties are gone except two and I have two railroads, one red, and electric company. I bought the last yellow. Louis quickly offered both railroads for the yellow (he had the other two) and I figured, sure, why not help him up on my way out.

WELL… turns out having three other people landing on my $200 a pop spaces continually led to me winning the first monopoly game in years!

Lunch was bean and rice burritos. (Louis cooked, I cleaned)

Next was outside. Waterslide (plastic sheet with a hose), mud, and gymnastics routines to whole songs pumping from one bass speaker that Louis DJ queued up. Thea took a nap, I typed up blogs, bread dough (for pizza dinner) was rising, and we spent the afternoon playing outside.

Thea had a little cup for her soda, but decided to learn how to pour her sister’s soda into her cup, then her cup back into sister’s soda can, and leave soda footprints on the carport:

Lucas left the waterslide to play in the mud pools:

The girls practiced their gymnastics routines. They did both the Show Routines to real floor music and did the ones they made up for each of the really popular songs they hear at Parents’ Nights Out because they want to do them with their friends during free time one night. The Speechless song from Aladin is by far the favorite. Jaquline’s “routine” is more interpretive dance than Kimberly’s focused skill-by-skill connected with dance moves gymnastics routine, but both were quite entertaining!

Just a little glimpse into our fun, crazy life.

Louis just left to go start the pizza. Thea and I are enjoying listening to Tron Legacy music as I finish this last blog for the week on my borrowed computer, then we’ll head inside… turns out they want to watch “Cheaper By the Dozen” with Myrna Loy and Clifton Webb and we’ll do “Yours Mine and Ours” with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda (Lucy is their favorite!) while we eat.

Slow, relaxing day with our crew. Hope everyone is faring well through this trying time. Slow down and enjoy what you have.

Thank you for Reading!

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

Fighting Failure

July 12, 2019

Fighting Failure

It’s when your mind tells you stuff that isn’t what God wants you to hear, but the logical part of you says, “yes, that’s right,” so you agree and allow the spirit of failure to permeate your day.

I know in my heart that anything discouraging that doesn’t come with a motivation for how to fix it isn’t from God.  Yet, my logical brain doesn’t always catch these.

Fighting with the spirit of failure has been tough for me lately, especially the last couple of weeks.  One of the girls says “you are always busy,” and I hear “you are never home” to which my logical brain reminds me that I leave before most  are awake and I come home straight to dinner, cleaning, and bedtime or arrive just as bedtime starts.  My brain reiterates: “you are a failure” (at being a good mom.)

Louis says, “obviously, that’s wrong” when I ask for his help and my brain says, “you can’t even put a couch cushion cover on right!” This makes me irritated so I leave because I am now mad at Louis – to which my brain shouts, “see, you’re a horrible wife,” and I believe that because I couldn’t even get dinner ready within an hour the night before but Louis can throw a gourmet meal together in twenty minutes (why do I even agree with that failure, I know I’m not a fast cook?).  My brain reminds me of strings of “wife fails” in reverse order like comic book pages on fast-forward speed laughing, “you are a failure” (at being a wife.)

I’m working so much and have little time (when they need me) lately to spend helping my family with our recent losses.  One of my friends says “you’ll make time,” and since I haven’t stopped my job or altered my schedule too much, my brain laughs, “you are a failure” (at being a good sister, daughter.)

One of my friends is going through a very trying time and I want to be there for her more, but I’m busy when she’s free or I turn into a pumpkin at nine-thirty (to get to bed by ten & therefore up by five to get ready for work) but she is usually home and free in the evenings.  My brain tells me, “see, you are such a failure” (at being a friend.)

BUT… (positive one!)

I have to remind my mind (remind = renew my mind, if you will) that we are all failures.  All have sinned and come short of perfection.  So, yes, of course I fail over and over!  God gives me peace, hope, and joy.  I do my best with what life has given me and pray for God to give me the joy (translates into strength for me) to handle what I’m lacking.

So even though physically and humanly, I am not matching up to my image of perfection (another trap for us perfectionists, we actually think somehow that we can be perfect on our own), when I remind my mind who I am, I remember this: I am saved by undeserved favor (meaning I did NOTHING to deserve it, rather I deserved to die).  Jesus knew my failures ahead of time yet chose to say, “I want her.”

Now I can fight this feeling of failure by choosing to fix where I can improve and trust God with the rest.  I’m not going to be working from home again anytime soon – I will trust God with that.  I can try to prioritize time spent at home.  (I think I’m doing good until I literally take a step wrong my first day off & bruise my neck & shoulders so I spend almost two whole days recovering and doing nothing… and those were supposed to be quality family days!)  I remind my mind, “in all things, trust God.”

The joy of the Lord is my strength.  My mind plays Rebecca St. James “Be The Voice,” and Mandisa’s “Born For This” as I tell myself to “Lay it All Down” and trust.  “This Song is Alive” and “My Heart’s Already There!” (Point of Grace, NewSong, respectively)

Music is my key to joy!  Music is how I fight failure!  Thank you, Jesus, for music!  Thank you for always helping me to fight the spirit of failure in me.

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Behind the Picture: Bitten Heart

What kind of “deep thoughts” about life and love come from a bitten cookie?

February 28, 2019

Behind the Picture! Bitten Heart

It was Valentine’s Day.

I was at work (Playroom not coaching this evening).  Christina and Kimberly had come with me because my workplace is about 12 minutes from my sister’s house versus my house being about 35 minutes distant and Christina wasa going over to babysit her cousins.  (Kimberly is a year older than Livy, her closest cousin, and they LOVE to do anything together, so she jumped at the chance to spend time with her.)

Louis and I never really do anything special on Valentine’s Day as we are usually working it!  Christina considers Valentine’s Day a married-adult-only holiday and the chocolate on sale the 15th as the holiday for her.

We celebrate our love daily.  At least, I feel like we do.  At this time, I was dealing with a pretty bad allergic reaction to the inhaler medication and trying to keep normalcy while managing that and figuring out a new method to help when the black mold in our house messed with my breathing.  Louis was home (supposed to be resting his back) keeping everything in line there.  He’s an amazing chef and always had an awesome lunch /dinner when I came home between jobs.  There’d be a fresh hot dinner, usually just for him and me, when I got home from gym (between 8:30 and 9:30pm so the kids had already eaten).

When my sweet sister picked Christina and Kimberly up, she gave me a yummy, organic, cookie she and her youngest daughter had made.  (It looked so beautiful I almost didn’t want to eat it!)  She is a fitness instructor, nutritionist, and thoughtful, loving sister!

I was at that moment, a very hungry pregnant lady.

While watching the youngest in the playroom, I was studying and working on my journal for Christina (More about that in a later post), and I don’t like to eat around those who don’t have something to eat.  So the heart sat there, calling me, until the boys brought in their own candy and the baby went home.

When I took a bite, instantly my mind thought of how when we give true love (our world uses a heart to symbolize love), it is without expecting anything back.  We expect the recipient of our love to consume that love and we are thrilled if they enjoyed our offering.  My sister and niece happily created a labor of love (the cookies) to selflessly, happily give away without expectation of anything in return.

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Of course, in true loving relationships, both parties give love continually to each other.  In the varying seasons of life, one may seem to be giving more than the other, but true love gives without considering reward.  We expect our “hearts” to be “eaten” by those we give them to.  If we truly love, we are happy, even excited, that our love accepted and enjoyed our labor of love.

Jesus gave his love (no greater love has a man than when he gives his life for another) to us knowing that many would not even accept his gift.  They would live their lives, partake of all the gifts Jesus gave (air to breathe, beauty of creation, life itself, etc…), consuming His labors of love one by one, yet never returning anything.  Some would come to enjoy relationship with Jesus, but He knew some wouldn’t and yet He still poured out His love.

All this ran through my mind at the sight of one bite taken from a cookie.  (So, yes, I took a food picture.) A little deep, maybe, but that’s my writer’s brain.

I plan to continually shower those around me with as much love as I can give, and this picture will remind me to not think of getting anything back – to rejoice always when they accept and consume the love I give.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Wild Turkeys

Wild Turkeys! And other wildlife that crosses into our yard…

December 14, 2018

Wild Turkeys!

We live in a slightly rural area. There is an apartment complex across the street, but our backyard is taken up with half of a pond. To our right is a gorgeous undeveloped swampy forest that the girls love to explore and the escapee chickens always disappear into if given the chance. Well, it is swampy if it has been raining.

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Because of our neighboring forest and pond, we end up with a myriad of wild creatures in our yard. One morning we had seven deer in our driveway! Colorful birds love our trees. Majestic hawks eye the chickens. Huge owls show up at night to prey on the rodents and feral cats that are attracted to the chicken pen. (These guys are giant! The biggest guy we’ve seen has a head larger than ours! But we’ve never been able to get a picture of the owls.) We’ve moved (from the driveway) and examined several varieties of turtles, lizards, frogs, and toads.

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One day a lost rooster decided to claim our hens. No one claimed him, so Red has been a part of our flock for almost a year now. A beautiful peacock thought he should join our chicken flock too, but I hope he made it back to his farm (several farms are down the road past the forest).

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Then we had the wild turkeys! They showed up and in our chicken-farm-mentality way, Jaquline shrieks, “Mom! We don’t have to buy a Christmas turkey! We can just eat one of them!” (Of course, you can’t hunt wild turkeys without a license, so no, we didn’t get a wild Christmas turkey.)

Becky tried to sneak up on them and get some close up camera shots.

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Aren’t these turkeys beautiful? I love watching wildlife!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Grill Smell

How excited I get when I smell the grill – aka Louis cooking!

July 14, 2018

Grill Smell

Oh. My. Goodness!

I smell… I smell… (no, it’s not Ducky) I smell charcoal and lighter fluid!

This means Louis is on the grill.  AKA we are getting the most awesome lunch/dinner today!

Louis’ Dad cooked for a restaurant as a young man, his Grandma taught his mom who taught the boys how to make amazing Florida foods, and he cooked for a busy buffet and a 4-star restaurant.  His food is good.

It’s like when Becky (my 12 year old) says, “Mom, I’m doing lunch,” and everyone is like “awesome, so how can I help?” or we just get out of the way and let her magic happen.  She throws junk together without a recipe and comes up with delectable food.

Louis does this on the grill.

So, I’m like, beans, potatoes?  What sides do you want?

Louis doesn’t care; it’s all about the meat for him.  (Is that just a guy thing?  Nope, Becky doesn’t care too much about sides either, she focuses on the meat and lets creativity flow when it comes to “the sauce.”)

So, baked sweet potatoes, potato salad, and peas make up today’s yummy sides. (Canned peas were only 2.12 for a 6lb can from Sams, Aldi had sweet potatoes 6lbs for $2.00, and Currie’s local Sebago potatoes were $0.50/lb – I cook based on what’s on sale.)

Lighter fluid smell is extinguished – by looking at the coals you’d think they are dead.  Nope.  Just right to start.

T minus 10 minutes!  My stomach is aching!  I practically live outside now because of the mold/breathing issue, so I make up sides, set them out (peas on the stove, salad in the fridge, and sweeties hang out in the microwave), and go outside to wait on the best part.  I’m pretending to trim my elephant ears but this smell is exciting my palate!

I think every dog in the county can smell the meat cooking – do I care what it is?  Nope.  It will be yummy.

Is there any kitchen smell that is better than the grill?  Nope.  Okay, maybe a wood-fire camp circle with egg casserole cooked on a cold morning in a cast iron skillet with the hot chocolate tureen on the side – Yes, that might top grilled everyday meat, but just maybe…

Thanks for reading!  (Hope you have good eating!)

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

 

Houdini Hot Wings

June 26, 2018

Houdini Hot Wings

“Mom, he’s out again!”

The most idiotic of all chickens is this Buff Orpington cockerel who hates the safety of his pen.   I mean, what is it with this bird?

He has food, water, playmates, and protection from things that would pick their teeth with his toenails!  Like the hawk flying overhead, licking his chops (no, hawks can’t lick their chops, but still).  Okay, so the big Plymouth Barred Rock rooster can manage – he’s five times bigger than the hawks.  But little Houdini (no, his real name is “buffalo” like the hot wings) thinks his half-a-pound scrawniness is a match for the 1-pound hawk.  He struts around the yard squawking, “I’m free, come get me!”

Seriously!

The girls race outside, skipping with glee.  They love chasing the escapee teenage chickens.  Future-hot-wings squawks in horror.  Yes, bird, you should have stayed in your protected yard with all your friends!

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“Come on, we don’t want the hawks to eat you!” Yells Jillian.

“No, you’re our dinner in a few weeks!” Kimberly reminds him.

(If this is supposed to reassure him, it’s not helping.)

Jaquline finally grabs him, “his feathers are pretty, maybe someone will buy him to raise before we eat him.”

“Why?” Kimberly asks.

“Because then we don’t have to chase him all day anymore.” Jaquline replies, dumping said bird back in the pen with the others, “if we wait for him to get fat, he will start getting on my nerves.”

10 more weeks of chasing this escapee?  I certainly hope not.  Maybe the hawk gets him tomorrow – or someone chooses him as a 4H rooster.  Whatever happens to Houdini Hot Wings, he’ll forever be a character in the Long Tail books!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

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